I'll try, it's really difficult though. It looks like there's a massive self publishing wave so you just get lost.

I've vowed to start being more patient and try to learn more.

Tell me about it. I myself plunged into the self publishing world just this year. So far my fan base is just close friends and family that actually understand my literary concept and sense of humor. Still, I am pleased that I got decently fair reviews for my work so far.

Even if they are PAID reviews, I still believe my manuscript was just as legitimately judged as it would be with any trade published reviewing house, or any random book blogger on the internet that can't be bothered by self published authors who write within a non commercial genre like myself.

Not that it has happened here yet, but I have been met with negatively rude criticism on other forums over this. The notion that I purchased a paid review because I wanted a 5 star review without the reviewer actually reading the book/manuscript is insulting. Anyway, the self publishing route for me is both rewarding yet frustrating at the same time.

Still, I am pleased that I got decently fair reviews for my work so far.

Even if they are PAID reviews, I still believe my manuscript was just as legitimately judged

Here's the problem - when someone bothers to read the review and then check out the reviewer. At that moment, you probably lost a reader as your review's credibility just went out the door. What you do want is those Amazon reviews - if you see them, they should be first and forward in your promo.

I do understand the frustration that sends you to these sharks (and yes, as far as I'm concerned these are parasites preying on new authors), because getting any review is hard as hell even when you are with a publisher. Especially one without a NY address.

Have you thought about approaching blogs? Networked at conventions for a review? Yeah, it's work, and not often going to get you a review, but boy when you do hit pay dirt, you got a keeper. Not something you might want to brush back into a corner.

I've not heard of paid reviews before. Sounds like an odd setup. People have suggested I send free copies to reviewers, is that what you mean?

I think I'd rather get bad reviews. The beauty of self publishing is you can go back, change and fix the book and it's online the next day. Surely that's better in the long run.

Saying that, I ask my friends to read and review my book in the hope it would move up higher, but that seems to have backfired as one of them did review it but only after reading one chapter. I'm learning I guess.

I have not received any reviews on Amazon. At this point a negative review would be great for at least that means that SOMEONE read the damm thing. haha But yeah I have submitted more than enough requests to fiction reader bloggers to review my book for free. Months later so far no takers. That is why I went the paid reviewer route because I figured that meant my book would get reviewed within this lifetime. It was not some sinister act I did because I wanted a guaranteed 5 star review as more than enough people on the internet insist that I did.

Not to mention the reviews I got were not that glowingly positive. Each one points out that I am an amateur author with room for improvement. But points were made about the book that could only have been done if they actually read the entire thing that would be no different to what the more legitimate reviewers would do.

The beauty of self publishing is you can go back, change and fix the book and it's online the next day. Surely that's better in the long run.

I respectfully, but totally disagree that this is a plus for anyone, least of all the consumers. If I buy a book, I commit to spending usually many hours reading it and I expect it to be a finished product. I would be deeply aggrieved if I got to the end and found out the author was still treating it like a work in progress.

Very, very few books warrant a second reading, and that is always because they were so good the first time that I want to experience the same thing again. It is not because I want to give an inexperienced author a second chance at something they didn't get right first time.

(Now obviously this is okay if we're just talking about the odd typo...But I'm not getting the impression that is the case)

As much as I think my book is awesome, it's been read by others who liked it, it's been proof read. I am realistic in thinking that if nobody else liked it then I would need to change it. If I can't write a decent book at all then it's been fun and I'll do something else.

I don't look at a self-pubed work as a WIP but I see nothing wrong with fixing grammar mistakes or little things like that. If some one puts up a work and then heavily modifies it, that's a different area all together.

As for sending review copies, that's encouraged and cheap to do. As for paying for reviews, that's just a little shady.

Marketing in conferences and conventions

In regards to promoting and self marketing, one thing I tried out recently was to attend a conference that was in the same domain as the story line I'm working on. I recently attended a Star Wars conference in Orlando (Star Wars Celebration) and I printed out some promotional business cards with the website and a sketch of one of my characters.

So I took 2 different approaches , quantity versus quality.

For Quantity, I stood by the entrance and gave out the cards as people were coming in an mentioned a quick one liner "indie sci-fi story, check it out". Most people took the promo, some people asked what it was about, and a small number of people completely ignored me (boy, that was humbling).

For Quality, I approached some people who were either reading some books already or were interested in comics or novels. That was great because I got to engage in some conversations regarding the plot and receive some feedback.

Then, when I was done, I got to enjoy the conference myself which was outstanding.

As for sending review copies, that's encouraged and cheap to do. As for paying for reviews, that's just a little shady.

But what about the people like me that have already sent previous requests to get my book reviewed for free but has yet to receive an OK from any of them that they will give it a fair chance? How can that be my fault that I am forced to go the paid review route?

In hindsight I am now aware that paid reviews are frowned upon with the status quo readership. But I still contend that I thought the review fee was just simply a guarantee that it will be reviewed within a reasonable time frame and to have the review permanently posted on their website. Even if I can get a book blogger to review my book for free, I am sure they will only reiterate the positives and negatives that my paid reviews did.

Hypothetically, what if I got a lot of reviews like "Love the book, but chapters 3-4 are too long and boring". So I thought, hmm... I'll make those a bit shorter and more snappy.

Would you think that was a bad idea?

(Please bare in mind that I am new at this.)

Yes, I think that would be a bad idea. That means you should have sent the book to 'beta' readers before publication. You need to try and make sure you're putting out the best product you can the first time (with minor tweaks). Re-writing chapters to me seems that book wasn't ready for prime time.

That is my opinion, of course, and you're more than welcome to re-write those chapters. Just make sure when you put out a new version you have something in your copyright that tells people which version they've bought.